Is it a common practice to let finches out of their cage?

[Zebrafincher]

Finches and canaries CAN be let out to fly - you just need to be careful. My three birds - Canary, Star finch and Zebra finch all have free flight time (well, my star finch hops around as he can't really fly).

I keep the cages in the same places and peg the doors open. My birds fly in and out as they like. Finches will get used to getting in and out of a cage if you keep it in the same place. I do have a small top of an old cage which my birds are used to hopping into if needed as well. They rarely go out of the back room. My canary and zebbie fly together. Merl the star finch has to be let out separately because he fights with my canary and Zebbie

Good luck

Kind Regards

Zebrafincher

[Sheather]

My Java sparrows and societies live free in a large room set up for them and are locked in at night only. They don't get into any trouble.

[MiaCarter]

Zebrafincher -- Absolutely agreed.

I think the mental stimulation and the exercise is definitely outweighs any small risk. I've been letting my guys out for years and I've never had a problem.

I think more people should provide their finches with free fly time. You just need to go through the room and think like a finch. Look for anything they could get caught in, fall behind, etc. Then watch carefully for the first few outings and remedy any potential issues that you spot.

Yes, there's a bit of poop, but it's not a big deal.
We have a leather sofa in our bird room, so easy to wipe up. And the rug is easy to clean. You pick up anything you spot. Anything you miss will dry up and it will come up when you vacuum.

My guys always go back to their cage after a few hours. I time free flight time to end right around dinner. They always come back for the fresh foods that I put out for dinner.
Anyone who doesn't want to come back is easy to catch. Most step up onto my finger. If necessary, I have a net. (But it's rarely used. Usually the sight of the net and they're saying "Okay, okay! I'm going back! Geez....don't need to get the green thing out!")

[Zebrafincher]

Hi Miacarter,

My birds love being out. I can bribe them to go back into their cages with "yummy greens" if needed - bit of encouragement - usually in the mornings. Sometimes they'll sit up on top of the curtains and be absolute pains, and not go in, but generally they're pretty well behaved.

On the weekend they'll be out of their cages all day. They fly in and out, and seem to really love it. Your finches sound cute!

Cheers

Zebrafincher

[Justino222]

Hahaha MiaCarter "dont get the green thing. Out" i could just picture the whole scenario. I just started letting mine out. But just got females for all the males and want. Them to bond so i thought id leave them in the cage for a whike to let the ones ive placed together bond. Cause its so confusong when i let them all out, every male trys to "hop on" a different female lol.

[MiaCarter]

Justino222 - Yeah, they're a funny bunch!

That's a clever idea to get them to bond outside of the cage!
I usually do each cage separately just because it's easier. New Girl and Priscilla look alike so it would be tough determining who goes into which cage. And the occupants of the main cage had been picking on Jackson, so I didn't want to mix them together.
But that's a super clever way to make introductions in a common ground setting, without territorial issues. It would be a good idea for determining potential roommates and mates. I'll have to remember that!

Yeah, the dominant males tend to hop on other females!
Just today, I was watching Molly Sue try to woo Priscilla. Priscilla was not having it; she'd peck at him in a clear "back off, buddy!" But that didn't deter Molly Sue! He tried to hop on her and Priscilla's mate Elvis came out of nowhere with a banchee-like shriek and buzzed them to break it up.
Sent a clear message. LOL

@ZebraFincher -- That's funny that your guys will stay out all day! I've left the cage doors open all day, but they always seem to go home after 4-5 hours. They're very predictable like that!
They're homebodies at times....especially when they know good food is coming! In the mornings when I prepare breakfast and clean out the cage, I usually leave the door open on the cage I'm working on and they never go out because they know food is moments away!
Although clever little Squeepers has figured out that he doesn't need to wait for food if he steals a bit while I'm preparing! So the smart little bugger has started hopping over and helping himself from the food containers while I'm doling everything out. Smart boy!

[Justino222]

Hmmm never thought of letting the finch out by cage instead of everyone all at once. I just like to see them all flying around together and all. But ill try one cage at a time. MiaCarter

[Justino222]

Oh and i think there was a misunderstanding haha. My plan was to leave the pairs ive placed together in their cages so that they can bond. So when i let them out they arnt tryna go to everyone else. Corkysgirl suggested itd be a good idea to leave the pairs in their cages for a few weeks to let them bond, and i can see the logic. I just want them to bond so i can breed them but i dont want the males breeding with more than one female lol i wanna know whos babies are whos. I like letting them have free fly time but everytime i let them out the males try to sing and inpress different females each time. so i never know who to actually pair them with lol. Ugh the stress haha

[zipzapzipperzoom]

My 4 societies come out every evening. In fact they are lined up in front of the door when I come home from work and beep at me. They stay around the cage and love playing in the greenery and in the ficus tree. I have a perch just outside the door and they are very good at finding the door. They go in for bed time just before the lights go out.

They are usually out all day on weekends. Never had a problem.

It scared me at first...but they don't stray. If we have company...they think it's absolutely amazing!

[MiaCarter]

Justino222 -- I let my guys out daily and I think it's just wonderful for them! It's so much healthier for them to get the exercise and mentally stimulating too.

I've got the room totally bird proofed so they can't get into trouble. Nothing to fall behind, etc.

Remember no ceiling fans!! Death trap.

I have leather couches for easy cleaning and I've got floor diapers (aka puppy pads) under the main perching spots.

I do have an area rug, but it's in the center of the room and therefore, it rarely gets pooped on.
If it does, I mark it with a folded post-it note, let it dry and just vacuum it up. (If you try to pick it up while wet, it smears. So wait a few hours and let it dry first!)

I think many fear letting them out due to the task of catching them. But it's not hard. Providing there are no babies present (I don't do free fly time for actively parenting birds), I pull up the food dishes for a couple hours and clean them out, etc. Then, when it's time to return home, I serve dinner and that gets them into the right cage quite quickly!

They know when it's time to go home; they migrate there on their own after a few hours.
If worst comes to worst, I'll collect them by hand. Most are hand-friendly. And if they're real stinkers, I have a net. (Though notably, they *know* the net and what it does. They hate it. So just showing the net is typically enough.)

[Sheather]

I have no trouble with my free-flying birds returning to their own cage at night. They might mingle by day and go all over together, but at night the canary goes to his own cage, the java pair to theirs, three societies to theirs, and the other four societies to theirs. Then I just shut the door until morning, and then let them out to mingle again.

[Sally]

I would love to let my birds out, but with 30 cages in my bird room, I think it would be absolute chaos. I can't even get the escapees to go back into a cage.

At one time, I had a large flight cage (60x30x72) in my back room (9'x10'). I started letting those birds out, but they didn't gp back in the cage, they were a pain to try to catch up in the evening. So I finally just let them be loose in the room all the time--that was pretty nice. I had plants in pots and a fountain back there.

[Justino222]

Nice MiaCarter i love letting them out and ive tried removing the food and then placing it in when time to return, but no hope haha. The only way mine go back id if i let them out separately cause the only cage they can go into is theirs (which is open) but they are little cuties